Jones, NFL say they’ve already done enough for fans left out of the Super Bowl

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 27, 2011, 2:39 PM EST

AP

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the NFL have responded to a lawsuit brought by fans who bought Super Bowl tickets but didn’t get a seat to the game, and they say the lawsuit is without merit and ought to be dismissed.

In fact, the Cowboys and the NFL say they’ve already gone above and beyond what they’re required to do to make things right for the fans with their offers of refunds and trips to future Super Bowls.

The problem is, going to see your favorite team in the Super Bowl is such a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a football fan that nothing can replace it. If you’re a Packers fan who bought a ticket but you were left out in the cold on Super Bowl Sunday, the NFL can’t give you back the experience you missed.

And so while Jones and the NFL say they’ve offered to spend somewhere between $4.5 million and $9.3 million to make things right for the 3,296 fans who were affected by the shoddy planning of this year’s Super Bowl, the truth is, there’s not a dollar amount they can spend to fix things.

Unless Jones can generate 1.21 gigawatts of electricity, go back in time, and not sell tickets for seats that don’t exist in his $1.2 billion stadium.

55 Responses to “Jones, NFL say they’ve already done enough for fans left out of the Super Bowl”

ar1888 says:May 27, 2011 2:43 PM

Jerry Jones is a jackass.

boyzroll says:May 27, 2011 2:43 PM

LMAO. you fools. jj laughing his way to the bank while you all cry about it. and you all will be cryin more when DALLAS win three superbowls in the next decade. hate all you want, you know who’s americas Team. LMAO suckas who pay for nothing get nothing. dont hating on jj for taking you fools money.

touchdownroddywhite says:May 27, 2011 2:44 PM

Wow. Such a great attitude to take. “We offered them all roughly 3 thousand or less, and they need to move on”.

Hope they never try to sell “extra” tickets again, cause I doubt anybody is going for that.

kate773 says:May 27, 2011 2:46 PM

I am no fan of Jerry Jones, but I do believe there has to be a limit on this.

No, you can’t put a price on the experience missed. Absolutely true. But didn’t the fans who sued do that very thing?

willycents says:May 27, 2011 2:48 PM

“there’s not a dollar amount they can spend to fix things.”

So, this is the true measure of “irreparable damage”?
I suppose then, by PFT thinking, that the NFL should just cave to those fans and give them majority ownership of all franchises and unfettered access to all revenue of the league. Maybe 60% of gross revenues above $1B would be sufficient to help repair their shattered lives./sarcasm

If there’s not a dollar amount they can spend to fix things, why are they asking for more? Really? Yes, it blows that you were unable to watch the game. Sorry. Stuff happens and things don’t always work out the way you want them to. Deal with it. What they are offering you is more than enough to cover any ‘damages’. I swear, people these days will sue for anything…

Way to go Jerry!! That’s the way to win over that fan support during the lockout. Just keep reminding everyone how greedy you are and how little the fans mean to any of you. I am just so sick of hearing anything the owners and players have to say.

The problem is, going to see your favorite team in the Super Bowl is such a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a football fan that nothing can replace it.
———————————————-
Not for the Packers and Steelers it isn’t….

I completely agree with Jones and the NFL on this one. It’s absolutely unfortunate what happened, and the fans are right in that the experience can’t be replaced. But the reality is, there is no time-machine that can allow Jones to go back in time to prevent this from happening in the first place. Hopefully he learned something so this doesn’t happen again in the future. Fans got a heck of a deal out of it, with more compensation being paid back than they originally paid in the first place.

But of course, there will always be fans that can’t understand this. The chance for ever living the Superbowl experience is gone. Deal with it.

strategerie says:May 27, 2011 3:05 PM

Jones is damn lucky he and his organization were not the subject of a criminal complaint. Selling a ticket for a nonexistent seat at a sporting event is illegal. Anyone in the future selling Super Bowl tickets should be subject to criminal charges if they try this stunt again.

If the shoe was on the other foot, Jones would be pursuing the parties that did not “make things right” to their graves. I don’t feel sorry for him (or the others that are attempting to get this suit dropped,) at all.

Jerry Jones sold too many seats because he wanted to set an attendance record. If anyone thinks this wasn’t his fault then you’re crazy!

I hate lawsuits, but this was foreseeable and slapped together at the last min and Jones screwed a lot of fans just for the sake of trying to beat that record, gaining publicity, and touting Jerry World.

The only positive out of this mess was the Fire Marshal who stood up to Jones and the stadium management and didn’t allow fans into those unsafe seats. That had to be a hard choice, so give the guy some credit for not caving in like the NFL did and giving Jones anything he wanted! I know you have to pay for the stadium, but people’s lives are worth more than the rent.

hokiez says:May 27, 2011 3:05 PM

Boy the owners sure love fans….

PFTiswhatitis says:May 27, 2011 3:06 PM

I do not recall the terms of the offers but IIRC they were borderline acceptable. I suppose there will always be a small group of fans that will want to profit from the mess but why not just go a little further and put an end to it – atleast for the majority of those screwed by Jerah and the NFL? Nah, they will take the big corporate attitude and fight.

The other “ticket-holders” were actually “seat-holders” for the Superbowl. Considering that many of these people were expecting to see their favorite team, I would extremely pissed to not be able to attend the game due to negligence on the part of the NFL and Jerry Jones. Money can’t buy that.

Obviously Jones has never had to look over from the other side of the fence. If the NFL touts the super bowl as a once in a lifetime experience (aka their commercials (i think)), dollar value can be placed on any purchases but not on the “experience” factor which the nfl advertises so much bout being there. the great greed of the nfl and its advertising should come back to haunt them in a very big way on this one. You cannot put a value on once in a lifetime opportunity to see your favorite team in the super bowl but there has to be some compensatory damage here cause the promoting comes straight from the horses mouth.

spartyfi says:May 27, 2011 3:24 PM

Seriously, get over it and stop your whining people. You were offered the monetary value which is all they have to do. You can sue all you want but I hope to god some jury or judge isn’t dumb enough to actually give you more!

Pay everyone their costs incurred, give them a ticket to any super bowl in the future they want (include hotel at a 4 star or above + food stipend) then add $4000 per person for pain and suffering…you’ll have a deal.

stop messing around with these people….NFL is a BILLION DOLLAR business…..if this gets to a jury they will be HAPPY to hand out a lot more.

NFL does not want to see a jury in this case.

goldsteel says:May 27, 2011 3:27 PM

I’m sure Jerry Jones felt that way before the game started. And of course, his mouthpiece, Roger Goodell, would be in lock step agreement.

spartyfi says:May 27, 2011 3:30 PM

“strategerie says: May 27, 2011 3:05 PM

“Jones is damn lucky he and his organization were not the subject of a criminal complaint. Selling a ticket for a nonexistent seat at a sporting event is illegal….”
_____________________________________
Thank you for showing us that you do not have a clue about the law. The seat was to be built and there are plans to show that. Unfortunately unforseen issues arose that delayed it and therefore made the seats unsafe at game time. In otherwords, it was not done with intent and the sale of the tickets were based on reasonable expectations that the seats would be available, therefore NOT criminal.

Do you really think we have enough money in our gov’t to start trying trivial stuff like this? Get a life!

markdamack says:May 27, 2011 3:31 PM

PFT just loves to feed the trolls.

“Let’s see if we can paint an even worse picture of Jerry Jones!!!!” “If we do the ignorant cowboy haters will come talk about stuff they have no clue about, and blow up the comments with ignorant dribble”

Um, the seats fiasco was 100 percent the NFL’s fault. They took over all seating arrangements months before the super bowl. Jerry takes some of the blame, in really what looked like a good gesture. You just need a reason to talk to smack.

Jerry is one of the few owners to say he’s not cutting pay and that gets a little side note in an article.

He says they’ve done pretty much all they can for the fans that lost out…when he wasn’t really that responsible for it…and it get’s another one of PFT’s sarcastic threads. It’s blatant bashing from what’s suppose to be a semi-unbiased internet publication.

markdamack says:May 27, 2011 3:34 PM

strategerie says:
May 27, 2011 3:05 PM
Jones is damn lucky he and his organization were not the subject of a criminal complaint. Selling a ticket for a nonexistent seat at a sporting event is illegal. Anyone in the future selling Super Bowl tickets should be subject to criminal charges if they try this stunt again.

If the shoe was on the other foot, Jones would be pursuing the parties that did not “make things right” to their graves. I don’t feel sorry for him (or the others that are attempting to get this suit dropped,) at all.

He get’s a cut of the profits. It’s not his game to sell ticket’s too. It’s the NFL’s.

Does he sell tickets to the Pro Bowl too?

rolandsloan says:May 27, 2011 3:38 PM

Jerry Jones is not a nice man. He does not have
any sense of empathy at all. If the Cowboys ever
make the Superbowl again, Jerry should be made
to walk around the stadium until 10 minutes after
the start of the game. Then he should watch the
game on TV at a bar next to a couple of large men who don’t brush their teeth on a daily basis. Perhaps empathy can be learned.

I think the NFL is going about this the wrong way, because you’re right… seeing your favorite team in the Superbowl is a once in a lifetime event.

So the NFL should work to replace that with something related to the fans team.

Thousands of people watched their team in a Superbowl, but how many people have run out with their team onto the field of the home opener, then got to sit at the 50 behind their teams bench?

And that would cost WAY less than what the NFL is already offering.

Get creative, NFL!

schmitty2 says:May 27, 2011 3:52 PM

boyzroll says:
May 27, 2011 2:43 PM
LMAO. you fools. jj laughing his way to the bank while you all cry about it. and you all will be cryin more when DALLAS win three superbowls in the next decade. hate all you want, you know who’s americas Team. LMAO suckas who pay for nothing get nothing. dont hating on jj for taking you fools money.

Here’s a response you might understand Ghetto boy. Boyz aint going to win no Supa Bowl. The owner is whack and pays too much ca$h to his playas

deadeye says:May 27, 2011 4:07 PM

This comment has nothing to do with the story, but Jerry Jones is a gold-plated jack-arse.

This is the kind of sh!t that really angers me with how the league is dealing with fans and their overall viewpoint of them.

Obviously we can’t expect the league to give them the bank vault, but the league should want to avoid a lawsuit on this one…you can’t sell tickets to the effing Super Bowl when the seats don’t exist and they should have to reimburse all expenses that those fans incurred on their trip (tickets, transportation, and accommodations). The league is basically offering anywhere from $1,365 to $2,822. Sorry, that doesn’t cover it.

Just give everyone $5,000 and learn from your mistakes. Try to show some good will toward your fans for once and put this issue behind you already! Those guys are all tighter than tree bark…

upperdecker19 says:May 27, 2011 4:46 PM

“You give me one PFT employee on that jury, and you’re gonna be rich people!”

Regards,
Jackie Chiles

upperdecker19 says:May 27, 2011 4:53 PM

@markdamack

It was Jones that furnished info that ALL seats being sold by the NFL in a structure that he owns would be compliant with local building code requirements. He clearly didn’t follow through. Quite frankly, the NFL should be looking to sue Jerrah for not following through.

I don’t think Jones is the actual guy in the ticket booth……..NO, but if you have spent any time on this site you would know Jones wanted to set an attendance record. Now to accomplish this Jones specially built special temporary seating over the entrances to several sections to beef up how many fan’s the stadium could hold. Then he installed large screen TV’s outside the stadium with seating (which was cheating to beat the attendance record, but that’s beside the point). This was done with the approval of the NFL, because they thought it would be great for the newest and best stadium in the league to break the attendance record.

This isn’t in dispute; it has been reported on here many times. Now the problem was that a Fire Marshall stepped in and told then some of the seating was unsafe, and I believe there was an issue with safe occupancy levels as well at the stadium! That is why some fans were not allowed into certain sections of seating. Now considering it was temporary seating that Jones and the NFL had built, for the specific purpose of breaking the attendance record………..Yeah I think he had both hands and two feet in selling those tickets.

Selling tickets to seats that don’t exist or that are substandard really reeks of Jerry’s greed. He even screwed over his his season ticket bond holders by giving them inferior seats to the game rather than their usual seats. Jerry really is the ultimate classless turd. I hate lawyers and lawsuits, but I hope the jury really hands Jerry his ass on this one.

All I got to say is… If my beloved Skins were in the Superbowl (Jokes start here), and I got to the game & this once in a lifetime opportunity was taken away from me… I would of had a stroke!!! What cost do you put on this? I’m just saying, we’ve seen people paid for emotional distress in lawsuits… I think this would be no different.

Give it a few more months and those fans will be leasing the Stadium back to Jerry so the Cowboys have somewhere to play.

txhc says:May 27, 2011 7:44 PM

“jpmelon says:
May 27, 2011 3:24 PM
1.21 gigawatts?!?

Great Scott!”

Yeah. We were subject to rolling blackouts all throughout the Metroplex while it was 20 degrees and less outside. And yet these stupid jackasses want to cry and sue for pain and suffering and all this other crap. Spare me. Take the refund you’ve been offered and don’t come back.

wferg1121 says:May 27, 2011 7:49 PM

“Unless Jones can generate 1.21 gigawatts of electricity, go back in time, and not sell tickets for seats that don’t exist in his $1.2 billion stadium.”
That’s easy all he has to do is climb a clock tower (don’t fall) and wait for lightning to strike. That should generate 1.21 gigawatts for the flux capacitor. “As long as you hit that wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88 miles an hour, the instant the lightning strikes the tower… everything will be fine.” (Doctor Emmett Brown:o)

silverdeer says:May 27, 2011 8:28 PM

Geez. The way these fans are acting you would have thought they were going to the Superbowl to root for the Lions. Only then will it be a once in a lifetime experience.

commandercornpone says:May 27, 2011 8:50 PM

silverdeer – whose lifetime would that be? probly not mine.

vikesfansteve says:May 27, 2011 8:54 PM

He owes the Packers fans that missed the game. That just sucks. They need to not only pay for a ticket to the next SB but cover all travel expenses.

Okay, I can’t believe that months after the fact, there are still so many people who are confused about the facts.
First, Jerry Jones sold ZERO tickets to the Super Bowl. The NFL controls ALL the tickets to the Super Bowl. It’s not a difficult concept to understand and yet, several people seem to be unable to grasp it.
Second, the Super Bowl is the NFL’s baby. The host team turns over all control of the venue to the league. The league gets the venue for FREE. Jerry Jones made exactly the same amount of money that every other team owner made from the game. Nothing extra.
Third, Jerry Jones does not own the stadium. The City of Arlington owns the stadium. Jones has a lease.
Fourth, Jerry Jones did not screw over his season ticket holders, txchief. The NFL screwed over the season ticket holders because, once again, the NFL controls all the tickets.
Perhaps the NFL would be better served to spend their pre-Super bowl time on something other than an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii for the league personnel.

Jerry Jones is a lightening rod, hate him all you want but he is a marketing genius. Who else could take a team that was 6-10 and get five prime time games next year, plus his team is still number one in tv ratings in the nfl.

Read it and weep PFT.

sdisme says:May 28, 2011 12:14 AM

Fans have a great argument. Yes they offered us future Superbowl tickets. But, they were planning to cancel football, so their offer was in bad faith.

Great Scott!
——————–
That’s heavy doc.
——————–
Is there something wrong with the earth’s gravitational pull in the future?

ernestbynershands says:May 28, 2011 1:05 AM

Ok. Do I have this straight?
Billionaire business owner screws customers.
Any doubt I had about the League (Owner$) position was completely shattered by this report.
I don’t side with players either.
Fans need to voice their opinion$.
Let’s go on strike after the lockout/strike/temper tantrum is over.
I get the anti big business sentiment.
But in these circumstances, f- them.
N. F. L. = NO FANS LEFT

bmckay3 says:May 28, 2011 2:58 AM

Considering that the players and owners are willing to shut down the season to get every penny possible, it only seems appropriate the fans attempt to do the same. Take that statement anyway that makes you happy.

melonnhead says:May 28, 2011 6:41 AM

It was Jones that furnished info that ALL seats being sold by the NFL in a structure that he owns would be compliant with local building code requirements.

————————————————————–

Ah no, that would be the stadium manager’s job. The real culprit is New York-based Seating Solutions, who was contracted to build seating and walked off the job early. They said that weather conditions made it impossible to get to the stadium to finish their work. Manhattan Construction, the company that built the stadium, stepped in on Saturday to try to finish the work but they were not able to complete construction of all of the seats.

tombrookshire says:May 28, 2011 7:15 AM

Amazes me that the NFL, a multi-billion dollar corporation, headed by billionaires have such contempt for fans they depend on for revenue. It is so emblematic of the general contempt of the rich for the working stiff who likely will never have an opportunity to do that again. How can you make him whole? You can’t. The other thing that shocks me is that they weren’t able to get this right. The NFL does this event every year. How do you screw it up so bad? Who was supposed to be paying attention to this little detail, that 4,000 ticketed customers had no place to sit? Again, it was nothing but greed which is increasingly the reason behind so much hardship that the middle class of this country of experiencing. Greed, the heart of why this once great nation is on the skids.

melonnhead says:May 28, 2011 10:14 AM

Fans have a great argument. Yes they offered us future Superbowl tickets. But, they were planning to cancel football, so their offer was in bad faith.

—————————————————–

So are you of the opinion that the NFL will never have another Super Bowl?

Oh….I didn’t realize that the NFL had the contractual rights to commit fraud. I’d love to see this in writing. The Courts will decide when you’ve done enough, the NFL sold seats that were never available to be sold. Selling something that you never had is called fraud. Plain and simple.